Bites Worse Than Barks
by BiteFirstThinkLater
Summary: Bikers and protection dogs. A recent veterinary graduate had no idea what she was getting into when she switched dog training clubs. It was just supposed to be a day of biting dogs... (I'll update this when I have a clue where it's going.)
1. Chapter 1

_I'm not a writer... we'll see if this goes on any longer._

"…Bella and Bailey BOTH need treatments done next at midnight. Make sure you're turning the little HBC dog every 2 hours - he's kind of touch and go, make sure someone checks him every time they walk by. And please, please don't forget to keep checking the FLUTD cat's catheter. Dr. Ames has been briefed - I'm outta here!" The small, lively doctor pumped a fist in the air. "Just kidding. Seriously though, any questions?" The pair of technicians smiled and shook their heads.

"We've got this, Doc," said the little blond one. "Enjoy your weekend - if anything goes catastrophically wrong we'll call your cell, otherwise I think we can all handle it." Alina Davenport gave them a thumbs up, grabbing her purse and slinging her white coat over one arm.

"You guys are the best! I'll see you Monday - I'm gonna try to hang out with my boys." The diminutive doctor strode to a kennel at the back of the hospital, and opened the door for a bouncy, tawny brown dog to exit. "Let's go, Mano." The dog bounced along at her left side, eyes trained on her face. "Bye ladies," she called on her way out, "thanks again!"

Outside, in the cool night air of the dark parking lot, she exhaled and allowed herself to relax for the first time in over twelve hours. Opening the back door of the white four door sedan, she tossed her white coat, purse and stethoscope onto the floor.

"Up," she said simply, the dog leaping into the backseat. She shut the door and heavily sank into the front seat, sitting for a moment before turning her key in the ignition. The car roared to life and her eye caught her traveling companion paced excitedly back and forth in the rearview. "Mano, dear God, can you relax for two seconds?" she sighed as she regarded the wild look in the skinny, pointy brown dog's eyes. "Of course you can't," she resigned herself, "you're a Mal." She rolled her eyes and zipped out of the parking lot into the night.

A little less than thirty minutes later, she pulled into the modest driveway of the modest house in the modest town of Charming, California. It had been easier to find affordable land here, rather than near her job at the fancy animal hospital in Lodi. She appraised the little two-story, single family home critically for a minute before turning the ignition off.

Dragging herself out of the car and opening the back door of the civic for Mano, she grabbed her purse. As Mano ran circles in the front yard, one eye on the young woman, she trudged up to her front door. Turning the key in the lock, she could already hear the young dog screaming in the kennel in the backyard, and the elderly black dog bouncing up and down in front of the door, whining and wagging.

"Hey there, Liv" she greeted the skinny old brindle hound dog. The dog leaned against her for a moment before hustling out the door to relieve herself. Alina watched the two dogs traverse the front yard, then called them into the house with a whistle. After turning and locking the front door, she passed through the sparse living room, containing only her two white leather couches, black end tables for each one, and a large turquoise area rug over the hardwood floors. The flatscreen tv hung on the wall across from the larger couch, well out of reach of playful dogs. She crossed into the recently updated kitchen, flipping on a light switch and tossing her purse onto the countertop, starting for the back door. As she exited the back door, the flood light lit up the yard and the kennel to her right, where the third dog was leaping about and scream-barking. "Ese!" she shout-whispered at him, "you're going to get us all killed - it's like ten o'clock at night!" She unlatched the kennel door as 60 pounds of pointy brindle dog exploded from the kennel, running loops in the large fenced yard. Alina sighed and sat on the back stoop. Mano raced out the door to join his buddy. Livid took a seat beside Alina on the stoop. The young doctor threw a companionable arm around the twelve-year-old dog and rubbed her eyes with her free hand. "They're crazy people," she murmured to the dog. "Crazy. People." Eventually the two dogs in the backyard stopped running around and came back to the house, tails and ears erect and waiting for direction. Ese began staring at Alina's face and barking, demanding. Alina stood slowing, disappeared into the kitchen, and grabbed a large, hard plastic, egg-shaped dog toy. When she returned to the stoop, Ese was still staring at her, but began wagging wildly and bouncing, in addition to the barking. She tossed him the toy. Being hard and oddly shaped, it slipped out of his teeth a few times before he was able to get a grip. Once he'd gotten his teeth around it, he went back to pacing the yard proudly. "That should at least shut your mouth for the rest of the evening," Alina said, amused. She glanced to her right, where Mano was still standing at attention. "Haven't you had enough excitement, being at work all day?" she asked him. He cocked his head at her voice and stared, tail waving, waiting. Always waiting. "C'mon, let's go inside," she said, turning for the door.

Finally changed into sweatpants, a hoodie, and eating ramen noodles out of a mug, Alina was sitting on the couch watching _Jaws_ with Mano laying in front of the door, and Livid stretched out on the couch next to her. Ese hadn't been seen since she'd fed the dogs - he'd scarfed down his food and promptly returned to the yard, egg toy with him.

"Glamorous life of a veterinarian," she muttered, setting the empty mug on the end table. She swung her legs onto the smooth leather of the couch, one on each side of the sleeping dog, and allowed her eyes to sink slowly shut as Roy Schneider yelled out " _Smile, you son of a bitch!"_ in the background.

The sound of her ceramic mug hitting the ground made Alina sit bolt upright.

"Fuck," she swore quietly. "Ese, what the fuck?" louder. Sunlight was streaming through the living room windows. She must have fallen asleep in front of the television and never made it to bed. Liv was gone, meaning she'd put herself to bed at some point during the night. She flipped her wrist towards her face. Nine A.M. Sighing, she stood up and bent to pick up the pieces of the mug and dispose of them. Ese stood back, staring at her and wagging his tail. "Right, you're hilarious," she told him. Livid appeared down the hall at the top of the stairs, stretching out and yawning. Mano was on his feet, following her silently. She'd forgotten to close the back door, and assumed that they'd all been going in and out all night. "Liv, go outside and pee," she shuffled the old dog out the door to do her business and opened the freezer, rummaging for something to feed them. Finding a package of chicken quarters, she cracked a few of them apart, and passed one to each dog. Ese ran to his open kennel, leaping on top of his dog house with his prize. "Freak," Alina murmured to herself, as Mano flew past her to "his spot" in the back of the yard. Livid chose to stay on the stoop. Alina brewed a cup of coffee, watching the dogs through the small kitchen window. After shuffling outside to lock Ese back into his kennel, minimizing the chances of a dogfight, she peeled off her clothes on the way to the bathroom for a shower. Turning on the hot water and slipping inside, she ran through her plan for the day. She was going to try out a new schutzhund club in Sacramento, see if she liked them. She chuckled to herself at what a dog soccer mom she'd become since she had graduated veterinary school. Now that she finally had some breathing room between shifts at the hospital, she was chasing titles again and enjoying her dogs. Exiting the shower and toweling off, she walked out into her bedroom and picked up a pair of jeans off the bed, dug through her drawers for a light v-neck t-shirt, and pulled an old dog training hoodie over her head. Pulling her hair back into a simple ponytail, she glanced in the mirror. Satisfied, she grabbed a Victoria's secret beach bag filled with training tools and toys from the hall closet, and went outside to fetch her dogs.

She pulled up to the park that the training club had chosen as their field with knots in her stomach. Ese knew what was going on, and was spinning and screeching in the crate she'd managed to shove into the back seat of her car. Mano wasn't acting a lot better on the 1/4 of the back seat he had to himself, bouncing on and off the top of Ese's crate, but at least he was quiet. Alina was always nervous to meet people she didn't know - a trait years of networking still hadn't erased. Having the dogs helped, but in the back of her mind she always felt that people were judging her, judging her dogs. She surveyed the field - a helper wearing a padded decoy suit, with a blind set up nearby, was in the middle of a group of three other men. A young man, probably early thirties if Alina had to guess, who seemed to be in charge looked like he was explaining how things would run, as everyone nodded at him. The two men in motorcycle club vests were what caught her eye. A handsome guy with blonde hair and a mean brow, and a freakishly tall, intimidating guy with a snake tattooed on his bald head. _Sons of Anarchy,_ she read off the back of their cuts, silently to herself. Now she was really nervous. "Please don't make us look like idiots," she murmured to Mano. "I KNOW there's no hope for you," she grinned, knocking lightly on Ese's crate, "knucklehead." She slipped out of the car, keys in hand (she remembered what had happened last time she'd left keys in the car with the dogs - Mano had locked her out) and slowly approached the group.

The man in charge watched the short young woman approach his training group for the morning, and continued talking to the other people. Alina frowned.

Finally, he asked, "can I help you?"

"Uh," she blushed, "this is Sacramento dog training club, right?" the young man smiled.

"Yes! Sorry about that! I'm Chris - club president, I help coordinate and set everything up. This here," gesturing to his right, "is Kent, decoy deluxe," Kent nodded at her with a smile. "You here to train?" he looked a bit confused.

"I'm Alina. And yea…" she gestured lamely towards her car in the lot, where Ese was screaming away. The blonde man in the club cut closest to her laughed.

"Malinois?" he asked, blue eyes sparkling. Alina briefly thought that he was incredibly good looking when he smiled, and gained confidence quickly with the chance to talk about her dogs.

"How did you guess?" she said with a sly smile, as he laughed again.

"I would recognize that scream anywhere! I happen to have a Mali- _noise_ with me as well," he gestured to the truck in the lot behind him, sporting a diamond plate dog box with a constant, high-pitched whine coming from it.

"Those of us who are _sane_ ," added the taller, bald, motorcycle club member on the other side of the blonde guy, "have dogs like Dobermans. And Shepherds." He was scowling. Alina's blood froze. This was quite possibly the most terrifying man she'd ever seen… and yet something about that attracted her. The guy next to her punched the other man's arm, grinning. "Hap, the last thing I'd ever call you is _sane,_ " he scoffed, "it's not our problem you can't keep up with the REAL dogs". He winked at Alina, and held out his hand. "I'm Kozik, by the way… this is my friend Happy." Alina shook the younger man's hand, as Happy nodded his greeting. "And I'm totally kidding," Kozik added, "Hap's Doberman is one in a million. Real good drive, total badass, and a little more sense than I fear my Mal's got. I'm hoping that'll come with age." Alina giggled.

"Time is what I'm hoping will fix my Dutchie… not that I think he's broken, I think he's just a Dutchie." The group all chuckled together.

"Well Ms. Alina," said Kent, "let's see what your pointy dogs have got!" She grinned and jogged off to get Mano out of the car, as the outlaw bikers strode to their own car to retrieve their dogs as well. Alina opted to leave the windows down for Ese rather than getting him out of the car. She'd let him show off his rotten self after Mano had made her look like a passable trainer. Clipping a lead to the dead ring on his fursaver collar, she grabbed a rubber ball toy on a rope out of her bag and tucked it into the pocket of her sweatshirt, then they jogged over to join the group.

Kozik's female Malinois was hopping and straining on her leash, trying to reach Mano. He grimaced.

"She's… still pretty baby-like," he said apologetically, "just 14 months." Alina smiled sympathetically.

"Mano's only good because he's like 7 years old now… Ese, in the car? He's insane. My 8 month old Dutchie will put your 14 month old Mal to _shame."_ Kozik grinned at her and held up his hands.

"You win." He said. Happy grunted. His Doberman was alert, but sitting quietly by his side. Alina stuck out her tongue at him.

"Yea yea, pick the easy breed and then look at us like we're idiots," she teased. He looked surprised that she'd deigned to stick her tongue out at him. She guessed not many people were brave enough to mock this man, and her face immediately felt hot.

"Lot of hard work went into this dog. Not my fault Glock belongs to a _better_ breed." he let a shadow of a smile slip; Kozik and Alina chuckled.

After four hours of drills, in which Mano and Glock showed off their intense training, and Ese and Kozik's dog, Riot, acted like puppies during obedience, all members were exhausted and ready to head out. Kozik jogged up to Alina as she was putting Ese back into his crate.

"Hey," he said as she turned out, "we're having a party tonight at our club - was wondering if you wanted to come by? Girl who can handle protection dogs is alright with us," he flashed her a winning smile. She contemplated for a moment. What did she have to lose?

"I could drop by, I'm off work." she decided finally, "Just let me get an address."

"Good deal," said Kozik, "here…"


	2. Chapter 2

_Thanks for the reviews, guys - I really appreciate it. I'll be hitting my books for a few weeks so you won't hear from me, but I really appreciated the feedback so I've decided to post what I had left. Again, totally not a writer, and still not sure where this is all going.._

* * *

Safely in her car, the dogs finally relaxed in the back seat, Alina pulled the business card Kozik had given her out of her back pocket. "TM motors…" she mused. "You know, I think I've seen this place," she waved the card at the dogs in the back seat. "Drove by and wondered if they worked on imports… guess I could ask in person." She smiled to herself. She couldn't remember a time in her busy life since her undergraduate classes that she'd gone to a party.

* * *

That evening, after a three mile hike in the hills with all three dogs, Alina stared into her open closet, at a loss for what to wear. "I have no clothes!" she moaned to Livid, staring at the piles of (clean) clothes on the floor of the closet. Liv wagged her tail from her seat on the bed. She pulled a short, baggy grey dress from a hanger, and studded belt from the floor. "Hmmm," she hummed to herself. She slid into her black leather boots, threw her just-past shoulder length, dark brown hair into a high bun, showing off the electric blue streaks underneath, and stepped back to appraise herself in the mirror. "This should do," she muttered, kissing Livid on the head on her way out of her room. Grabbing a leather jacket and her keys from the back of the living room loveseat, she shouted a goodbye to the dogs, and took off into the night for TM motors.

* * *

She pulled the car through the gate of TM and parked along the fence. She stepped out of her car, nervously tugging at her dress and clutching her jacket. She was stressed, hearing the music pumping every time the door to the clubhouse opened as she got closer to the building. There were a lot of people there that she didn't know. _Alright, if I don't see anyone I know, I can just get back in the car and go home.._

"Hey there," she heard Kozik's familiar voice from the side of the building, where he, Happy, and another club member were leaning against the wall, smoking. There were girls in short shorts and tiny tops milling about. "Glad you could make it." Alina felt instant relief. "Alina, this is Juice," he nodded towards the mohawked biker with tribal tattoos on the sides of his head. Juice nodded to her and smiled, "nice to meet you," he greeted kindly. "Alina moved here recently, came out to our dog club this morning," Kozik explained. "Has a pair of real nice dogs." Juice nodded again, and Alina figured he probably wasn't a dog person.

"So, is it just you guys into the dogs?" she asked.

"Pretty much," said Happy. "Everyone likes the dogs, appreciates their talents… no one else seems to want to put in the time." He glared pointedly at Juice, who gave her a sheepish smile.

"I don't even have a car," he said by way of excuse, shrugging, "plus these guys are always telling me I'd probably ruin a good dog. Kill 'em with kindness or some shit." Alina snickered quietly. Kozik tossed his cigarette to the ground, ground it out with his foot, and pushed off the wall.

"Let's get you a drink," he said, gesturing to her to walk ahead of him to the clubhouse door. Heart pounding, she entered the club. _Den of thieves_ , she thought, smiling to herself. The Sons' reputation definitely preceded them. She'd seen the bikes around town since she'd moved in, and heard whispers around town. Being essentially a hermit outside of work, this would be her first taste of their world. Alina stopped for a moment to take everything in. There were scantily clad women everywhere, hanging onto club members, flirting wildly, and making it very apparent that they were available to any of the leather-clad men. Some of them were darting around with trays of drinks, and tending the bar. There were club members playing pool, and everyone was smiling, drinking and having a good time. The vibe of the club was hard to resist. Kozik slung an arm around her shoulders, pulling away from a girl who'd stepped into his side as soon as he'd stepped into the building.

"Pretty crazy, huh?" he grinned.

"You have _strippers -_ bigger event than I thought it'd be." Kozik shrugged.

"They work for us - most of them are porn stars, not professional dancers." Alina thought her eyes might pop out of her head. " _Porn stars_?" she exclaimed, suddenly self-conscious. The girl still standing behind Kozik smirked at Alina, putting her hand on Kozik's shoulder. He shrugged her off and turned his head to look at her.

"Hey, not now," he turned back to Alina, "it's a legit business, porn," he said, shrugging again. He steered her towards the bar.

"Beer alright?" he asked. Alina nodded. "Beer for my friend here," he barked at the guy behind the bar wearing a cut that read "Prospect" across the back. The skinny young man grinned and handed her a beer.

"Here ya go, doll." Alina smiled, before Kozik grabbed her hand and towed her across the room towards the pool tables where a group of members were standing around with drinks and pool cues.

"Guys," he said as they approached, "this is me and Hap's new friend, Alina, that we were telling you about." The guys nodded in recognition. "Hey", "Nice to meet you", they chorused. A beautiful young man, no older than herself at 28, Alina was sure, piped up first.

"Jax," he said by way of introduction, shaking her hand. "So, you're into badass dogs, too?" he questioned. Alina chuckled and tucked a few stray strands behind her ear. Kozik reached out to touch a blue streak and she slapped his hand away, scowling at him.

"I don't know if I'd call my dogs 'badass'," she countered, "but yes, I'm into dogs. They're kind of my life - I live with three, have two more living with their co-owners in various places," she waved a hand, "and I work as a veterinarian." Jax nodded appreciatively.

"Sounds smart," he directed towards Kozik. "You'd probably like my old lady, she's a real doctor, like for people. Works with babies" he said nodding. Alina scoffed at him.

"Oh yea, she's the _real_ doctor - what's she treat, like one whole species?" Jax scowled. She smiled smugly. "I went to school just as long, learned just as much, except _I_ was expected to relate my knowledge across most of the animal kingdom. That being said, I'd love to meet your girlfriend, she sounds lovely." Jax stared at her for a minute - like he couldn't decide if he was angry or not, and Alina's blood momentarily ran cold, wondering if she'd made a huge mistake.

"Keep this one around, Koz," he finally said with a small smile. "She's got a smart mouth, but she's not half bad to look at." He winked at her as he walked off, and Alina guessed that his sexist parting remarks were his way of trying to look like he had the last word. She released a breath she didn't know she'd been holding, grateful that her unchecked attitude hadn't gotten her thrown out - or worse.

"Sorry," she said meekly, glancing sheepishly up at Kozik, "I have a bad attitude, a filthy mouth, and I can be mean as hell." Kozik looked at her, shaking his head ruefully and looked pointedly at the pool table.

"You play?" he asked, effectively changing the subject. She shrugged, smiling shyly, "a little…" she answered.

Three games later, she'd hustled the game and taken fifty bucks from the blonde biker. She was also on her 4th beer, and starting to feel it. Kozik walked up behind her and wrapped a hand around her neck, ruffling her hair with his other.

"I can't believe you just pretended to lose for two games so you could take all my money," he mock-whined.

"Believe it, baby!" she giggled, as she walked back towards the bar with Kozik's arm around her shoulders. "Hey there, whatcha drinkin'?" she boldly asked an older man seated at the bar in a denim cut. With a little alcohol on board, her inhibitions were gone. The old guy laughed.

"That's Piney, Piney this is me 'n Hap's new friend, Alina. She trains dogs, too," Kozik said by way of introduction, "and she's a doctor" he added, giving her a half smile. Alina glared at him, extending a hand to shake Piney's already outstretched one.

"Nice to meet you, young lady," he grumbled, "you drink whiskey?"

"Absolutely!" she said enthusiastically. Piney chuckled as he poured her a shot. Alina threw it back and slammed the shot glass back on the bar. "Again!" Piney, still chuckling, shook his head and poured her another shot. She threw that one back, too. Piney did the same with his shot. "One more," she said, holding up her index finger. Kozik was laughing as she tossed back her third shot. She turned to him suddenly. "Let's dance," she said, looking up at him through long eyelashes. He grinned, shaking his head, and backing away from the bar with her hand in his. She didn't miss the scowls coming from a few of the girls who had been beside them at the bar, occasionally reaching out to stroke Kozik's arm. She wiggled her eyebrows as she stepped into his arms, placing her head on his shoulder. Looking behind him, she could see Happy in the far corner of the room, downing a shot, while a gorgeous blonde tattooed something on the side of his body. Juice was talking up a cute blonde with huge boobs near the pool table, and Jax was deep in conversation with an intimidating looking older woman near the bar.

"So, what brought you to Charming, anyway?" Kozik murmured in her ear.

"I went to school in Oklahoma. Jobs were here, and it looked like a good place to maybe get back into hunting dogs. Luckily, new hospital just went in over in Lodi. Emergency and critical care, plus some specialty stuff. I did residencies in canine reproduction and emergency med, so it was a good fit. I decided to live out here where I could get a big yard, cheap, for my dogs."

"Hunting dogs?" he questioned.

"Yea, I grew up in hounds," she explained. "I've only got one old Plott bitch left. I don't hunt her much now that I have the pointy dogs, but I take her out occasionally. At least here, with all the trees, I have the option." She could feel him nodding. "What brings _you_ to Charming?" she countered, poking the NOMAD patch on his chest with her index finger.

"I used to belong to the Tacoma, Washington charter. SAMCRO needed some help, so Happy and I shot down here. I'm a nomad, but I'd eventually like to patch over. Probably won't happen though." Alina furrowed her brow.

"Why not?"

"Eh, some bad blood between me and one of the brothers here." He shrugged. "Some shit went down with one of our girls a while back.." He felt her shoulders shake with laughter and pulled back to look at her, his eyes questioning. "What's so funny..?"

"I'm drunk." she said simply. He laughed.

"I'm not… I stopped when you started doing shots. I can take you home." She nodded.

"Thanks… I've got dogs to take care of. Speaking of… where do you and Happy keep yours?"

"Ah, they mostly stay with Chris - he's our trainer. Dogs stay with him, being that we're nomads and usually on bikes anyway."

"That's gotta be hard," she said frowning. "I like having my dogs around." He shrugged.

"It's not ideal, but I'm not willing to not have dogs." She nodded, understanding.

"It was real hard to have them with long school days and longer residency nights… but I couldn't imagine life without dogs." The two of them started walking towards the door, Kozik's arm around her waist, holding her up. He nodded goodnight to the people in the room as they passed them. Alina specifically noticed a man with wild black hair, and piercing blue eyes, giving Kozik a death glare of sorts as they passed. _That must be the bad blood guy,_ she thought to herself. They got to the door just as it opened and a man with scars on either side of his face breezed in, almost slamming into the pair.

"Ach, sorry there you two," he said in a thick Scottish accent. "'Ave a good one," he grinned knowingly at Kozik, who shook his head.

"It's not like that…" he muttered, as they exited and walked towards Alina's car. She extracted herself from his arm and walked to the passenger side. "Keys?" she tossed the Honda's remote keys to him. He deftly caught them and slid into the driver's seat. "Holy fuck you're short," he said bluntly as he pushed the seat back. Alina laughed. "An Si," he said, putting the key in the ignition. "You like to go fast?" he said, suggestively raising an eyebrow.

"Only when it comes to vehicles and dogs," she giggled. "I'd be lying if I said I didn't buy the car because I found out the former owner spent a night in jail and lost his license for a year, he was caught going so fast." She lowered her voice as if telling a secret. Koz laughed and directed the car out onto the road.

"Where do you live, cutie?" Alina was glad he couldn't see her blush in the darkness, and directed him to her house on the outskirts of town.


	3. Chapter 3

New chapter - it's short, I apologize, I've got like a million things going on... I guess I should also start adding to these that I don't own ANYTHING, except people and canines you don't recognize ;) Any likeness to real people, living or dead, is clearly coincidental.

* * *

Opening the door to the house, it dawned on Alina that Kozik didn't have a ride back, and there wasn't a single sober body back at the clubhouse. "Come in," she practically shouted over the screaming dogs. "Stay, and I'll take you back in the morning. I have a couch," motioning to the soft leather couch against the adjacent wall, facing the television. Livid had greeted them at the door and was busy hopping around and soliciting attention from Kozik.

"Hey there," he chuckled, rubbing her sides as she brushed up against him like a cat. "I assume this is the old hound dog?" Alina nodded as she let Mano out of his crate, and walked to the kitchen door with him to let the dogs inside out to potty, and brought Ese in from his kennel outside. "You kennel him?" Kozik asked. Alina sighed.

"Someday, I hope that I won't have to. For now, he is like a hurricane if left indoors, and I have yet to find a crate he will respect." Kozik chuckled.

"Sounds like a Dutchie." She nodded her agreement, and yawned.

"I have got to sleep," she said tiredly. "I feel.. drunk." She poured a glass of water from the kitchen and downed it quickly before opening the hall closet, and tossing a pillow and quilt at him. "Goodnight, sir", she said almost teasingly. He grinned back at her.

"What if I get lonely?" She shrugged.

"There's enough dogs, I'm sure one would cuddle with you." She winked at him as she sauntered off to her bedroom. He watched her go, eyes on her ass as she made her way to the stairs and disappeared from view. He heard her door shut. Kozik ran a hand through his hair, backwards, smiling to himself, as he exhaled and flopped onto the couch. Mano was sitting in front of the door, staring at him.

"She's a piece of work, isn't she?" Mano cocked his head. "It's ok, creeper dog," Kozik said, "I've got a creepy, staring dog too." He lay back and pulled the quilt over himself, drifting off to sleep and mulling over the events of the day.

In her room, Alina stripped down to her underwear and climbed into bed.

"It's taking all of my self control not go out there," she murmured to the dogs. Livid snored, Ese wagged his tail. "How often do I meet a sexy badass who's also into dogs?" Ese's tail swished across the bed. "You wouldn't think I was a total slut, right?" the _thump thump_ of Ese's tail was her only reply. She yawned, snuggling into her sheets and comforter. "Too much effort," she said quietly as she fell asleep.

* * *

Alina woke up too soon - Ese was jumping on and off the bed, wagging his tail wildly. She groaned. "What the fuck, dog?" He barked at her. She swung her legs out of bed, yawning and stretching her arms. Pulling a hoodie over her underwear, she opened the door and padded out into the hallway, Ese barreling along in front of her, Livid at her heels. She smirked as Ese leapt onto Kozik's sleeping form. Instinctively, he jumped off the couch. Sometime overnight, he'd been reduce to just his jeans and socks. Alina crossed her arms and looked appreciatively at his body. She wolf whistled, "that's what a girl likes to see first thing in the morning," she said teasingly as he smiled.

"Morning, cutie," he greeted, his grin becoming wolf-like as he took in the sight of the woman in front of him in her black boy short underwear and hooded sweatshirt. She blushed.

"You're not too bad, yourself." she said quietly, raising her eyebrows. He shrugged.

"I work out." He said pointedly.

"I can tell," she said, grinning. "Coffee?"

"Please" he answered, pulling his t-shirt over his head. She opened the kitchen door, the pointy dogs sprinting into the yard, Livid plodding quietly after them. Alina started the coffeemaker and leaned her back against the counter as Kozik entered the kitchen, running a hand backwards through his hair. "Thanks for not making me walk back to TM" he quipped. She giggled.

"You make a good houseguest. Albeit a tempting one." she said, blushing and avoiding eye contact. That caught him off guard.

"Is that so?" he asked, grinning and letting his eyes wander down her tanned legs. Alina shrugged.

"I was drunk, so, part of me was thinking of sneaking back into the living room with you, but then I decided I was more tired." She was trying to play it off like it was no big deal. Kozik shook his head, smiling.

"Kinda glad you didn't… I don't want you to think I'm bad because you're drunk." Her cheeks flushed darker. Ese came running into the kitchen, demand barking at Alina. She sighed.

"Really dog? Here." She tossed him a roast that had been thawing in the sink. He ran to his kennel; she followed, locking him in. "We can leave as soon as I feed the others" she called from outside. He was too busy staring at her legs under the hoodie that just barely covered her ass. _If you're not bruised and bloodied, you're not training a real dog!_ the back of the hoodie read. He laughed to himself. She turned and came back into the kitchen, the other dogs in tow. She frowned. "What's so funny?" she asked, pouring him a cup of coffee.

"Your sweatshirt. I like it." he took a sip of coffee. She relaxed, giving him a smile and bringing the mug she held in two hands to her lips.

"I'm gonna go put on some pants," she said as she retreated back to her bedroom.

"Wish you wouldn't," he said softly to himself as he watched her go. Mano wagged his tail.

* * *

"Well, I guess I'll see you next weekend at practice?" Alina said, dropping Kozik off at TM.

"I think so," he nodded. "Here, let me get your number so I can let you know for sure," he walked around to the driver's side and handed her his phone through the open window. She punched in her number.

"Slick," she grinned, handing it back. He feigned innocence.

"I'm just keeping you in the loop, I'm back and forth between here and Tacoma." He leaned down and kissed her cheek. "See you later, Alina. Mano." He gave the dog a silly salute and turned around, grinning and walked back to the clubhouse. Her cheek burned as she pulled out of the lot, smiling to herself.

Gemma Teller-Morrow let the blinds in the office snap shut as the girl drove off the lot. She scowled, thinking she'd have to ask Kozik about her later. If he was serious about being patched in, he needed to spend more time with the club, and less time chasing pussy.

* * *

Kozik shook his head as he walked through the doors of the clubhouse. Juice was passed out on the pool table with a croweater, and the couches were all occupied with sleeping girls who hadn't been able to hook up for the night, or passed out club members who hadn't managed to make it to a bedroom. Only the prospect, Half-Sack, was awake and cleaning up around the bar. Kozik nodded to him. "What's goin' on, Sack?" The prospect shrugged.

"Just cleanin' up. Wild night, man! Hey - how'd it go with that girl?" Kozik grinned and took a seat on a barstool.

"You really wanna hear the gory details?"

"Yea man, absolutely!" he leaned across the bar. Kozik slapped him upside the head.

"I slept on the couch while her guard dog stared holes into my skull, dumbass." Half-sack laughed; Kozik joined in.

"Man, what'd you do to piss her off?"

"Nothing," he said honestly, "she was… really drunk. Didn't want her thinking I'm shitty in bed cause she can't remember it." He chuckled. Sack raised his eyebrows.

"Only matters if you plan on keepin' her around…" he trailed off. Kozik shrugged.

"I may have to see her on a regular basis to train dogs, rather not make enemies." he replied, by way of explanation. He thumped the of the bar twice, standing, "I'm gonna go try to catch some sleep and take off before Tigger wakes up," he pointed a finger at the prospect, "keep your head down and take care of your shit." He liked the SAMCRO prospect.


End file.
